1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle safety system and, more particularly, to a system which provides a driver with views and/or information regarding the area around a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The maneuvering ability of articulated vehicles such as tractor-trailer combinations is often hampered by the difficulty in quickly and conveniently determining the location of the rear end of the trailer and in viewing the area behind the rear end of the trailer. This is particularly so when the trailer is long and the tractor is turning toward the right. Typically, externally mounted side mirrors are placed on both sides of the tractor. These mirrors are rigidly positioned for straight ahead driving. Therefore, during turns, one mirror provides a view of the side of the trailer while the other mirror provides a view of the area to the side of the trailer. Neither of these views is useful. The much needed view of the rear of the trailer is not provided.
Although the driver can view the left rear end of the trailer and behind it by looking out the left window when the trailer is turning toward the left, the driver must turn his head and divert his attention away from the front of the vehicle. The driver's peripheral vision may not provide immediate perception of events occurring at the front of the vehicle. Moreover, the driver is unable to peer out the right window and view the right rear end of the trailer during a right turn. Stationary mirrors are also deficient when a tractor-trailer is backing into a loading or unloading area such as a dock during an attempt to park. In these situations, the tractor is almost always at an acute angle relative to the trailer to facilitate docking maneuvers. Stationary mirrors do not permit the rear of the trailer to be viewed during parking as the angle between the tractor and the trailer does not permit such a view. It is often necessary for the driver to leave the vehicle or to obtain the assistance of an additional person to perform the backing and parking maneuvers.
In view of these problems, numerous attempts have been made to provide a mirror which pivots or rotates to provide a view of the rear of a trailer during turns. Some of these prior art systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,988,957; 3,469,901; 3,527,528; 3,536,382; 3,749,480; 4,609,265; and 4,632,525. Many of these devices require complex mechanical devices with or without complicated electric circuits to rotate the side mirrors. Some devices are activated only by the turn signal of the vehicle.
One system that overcomes the above-described problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,851. Nonetheless, drivers still encounter numerous situations in which their viewing is impaired or in which it is difficult to accurately determine the position of the tractor-trailer relative to other objects. For example, drivers of tractor-trailers are frequently unable to see vehicles which are following closely or vehicles which are in other "blind spots." In addition, a truck must generally back squarely into a loading dock in order to facilitate loading and unloading operations. Even if a driver is able to see clearly the areas behind the trailer via rear view mirrors, it is still often difficult to determine whether the trailer is square with a loading dock. These problems make it more difficult to maneuver the tractor-trailer and can, in the case of unseen vehicles, lead to accidents.